Summary
- Final Fantasy characters have dwindled in importance in Kingdom Hearts, giving way to original characters.
- Final Fantasy characters from various games make cameo appearances in Kingdom Hearts, though not as prominently as before.
- Key Final Fantasy characters like Setzer, Vivi, and Auron have made appearances in Kingdom Hearts, with varying levels of significance.
In the early 2000s, Kingdom Hearts’ announcement seemed like a joke when it appeared in magazines. Why would anyone believe Final Fantasy characters would mingle with Disney characters? It sounded too wild, but the results now speak for themselves. Final Fantasy used to have a huge impact on the series, and now characters have slipped more into the background in favor of highlighting original characters instead like Sora and Riku. The hype for Kingdom Hearts 4 is palpable despite the news being absent.
While fans eagerly anticipate an announcement, let’s go through what Final Fantasy characters have appeared. Only main characters will be mentioned, so things like Moogles aren’t a good example, or reappearing names from Final Fantasy like Biggs, Wedge, or Wantz. These are all real characters with one-to-one representations, so let’s get to their more prominent appearances, forgoing the retellings of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts: Re:Coded. Lastly, the rankings will go game by game and see how well they have been represented in the series thus far. For those who want to save the surprise, let’s just say the entire series is on spoiler alert as far as Final Fantasy character cameos go.
5 Final Fantasy 6
A Big Party Shrunken
- Setzer: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
Final Fantasy 6 has one of the biggest playable party rosters in the mainline games. Yet, it is criminally underutilized in Kingdom Hearts as only one character has made it in: Setzer. He isn’t even one of the main characters introduced early, and instead appears as a gambler who also has an airship that the party needs.
Setzer appeared in Kingdom Hearts 2 during Roxas’ introduction and can be fought in the tournament. Other than this instance, Setzer never returned in that game, nor has he appeared in other titles. Since this was a tournament filled with younger characters, it would have made more sense to include Gau or Relm instead.
4 Final Fantasy 9
A Mage Stands Alone
- Vivi: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
Like Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 9 is not that well represented in the series. Vivi is the only character to appear, and he was part of Roxas’ tournament alongside Setzer and the others. Vivi’s classic Black Mage powers weren’t put on display, as it was a more rough-and-tumble fight with foam bats.
It would have made more sense to include Eiko as well to give him someone to play off of. Maybe in a future title, Vivi can return with more Final Fantasy 9 characters and get to display just how strong he really is.
3 Final Fantasy 8
Hiding In Plain Sight
- Fuu: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
- Raijin: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
- Seifer: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
- Selphie: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Squall (Leon): First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
Final Fantasy 8 got a decent start in the first game, beginning with Sora on Destiny Islands. One of Sora’s childhood friends was Selphie, who appeared as a much younger version of herself. She also appears very briefly in a cutscene with Kairi in Kingdom Hearts 2. Also in the first game was Squall, but he went under a new name, Leon.
He was part of the resistance in Traverse Town along with Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid from Final Fantasy 7. Squall also appeared with them during the Re Mind DLC for Kingdom Hearts 3. In Kingdom Hearts 2, Fuu, Raijin, and Seifer appeared as younger versions of themselves during Roxas’ campaign. Like Setzer, they could be fought in the tournament, but were much more vocal.
2 Final Fantasy 10
A Close Second To Seven
- Auron: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
- Paine: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
- Riku: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
- Tidus: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Wakka: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Yuna: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
Final Fantasy 10 is pretty well represented across the series as far as the playable cast goes. Like Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka were de-aged on Destiny Islands in the first game to challenge Sora to some battles. Unlike Selphie, though, they never aged up and appeared again.
5 Things Final Fantasy Does Better Than Kingdom Hearts (And 5 KH Does Better)
Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts occupy a lot of the same space but there are some things each title simply does better than the other.
Auron played a similar role in Kingdom Hearts 2 to Cloud’s in the first game, as he was tricked into helping Hades from Hercules. Eventually, Auron sees the error of helping Hades, so he joins Sora temporarily as a party member. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all made it into Kingdom Hearts 2 as well, but in one of the weirdest ways possible. They were turned into pint-sized fairies who helped Sora out in the background during some Radiant Garden scenes.
1 Final Fantasy 7
Seven Characters For The Seventh Entry
- Aerith: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Cid: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Cloud: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Sephiroth: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Tifa: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts 2
- Yuffie: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts
- Zack: First Appearance Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Final Fantasy 7 is arguably one of the most popular entries in the series, so it makes sense that it has been well-represented in Kingdom Hearts. Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid all appear in Traverse Town as part of a resistance to the Heartless in the first game. Later, Sora meets Cloud in Olympus Coliseum, the world based on Hercules, and Sephiroth can be unlocked in the tournament much later in the game as an optional boss.
In Kingdom Hearts 2, everyone returns with the addition of Tifa, who is now looking for Cloud. Most characters also get a redesign to represent their costumes from the movie Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children instead. Zack appears in Olympus Coliseum as well, but during the events of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep as a bit younger version of himself. Finally, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid appear in Kingdom Hearts 3 but only briefly during the events of the DLC, Re Mind.
- Released
- September 17, 2002
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
- android, ios
- Cross Save
- yes
- Franchise
- Kingdom Hearts
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- PS2
